THERE have been so many news lines coming out of Liverpool this week that it has been difficult keeping pace.

But one subject that will have grabbed everyone’s attention relates to Gary Ablett.

You will by now know that the former Reds defender has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma – in layman’s terms, cancer of the blood – and has returned to Merseyside to undergo treatment.

Ablett, like Peter Beardsley, is one of the few footballers to have played for both Liverpool and Everton and still enjoy the respect from both sets of supporters.

Not only that, he fulfilled important coaching roles at, first, Goodison Park and then Anfield - it was only two years ago remember that Liverpool’s second string ran away with the Premier League Reserves title.

Though he left following Rafa Benitez’s revamp of the Academy, he continues to be held in high stock by those who have worked with him.

It goes without saying that every footballer follower in this city will be wishing Ablett a speedy and successful recovery and he will be kept in everyone’s thoughts as he squares up to his biggest fight.